Many Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro units exhibit a weird screen flicker problem

Remember, every Pixel generation always comes with at least one strange issue

The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are starting to arrive at the doorsteps of those who pre-ordered, and just like that, the first issues are cropping up. Many proud new owners have taken to Reddit to complain about a weird display flicker that pops up when they hit the power button while their devices are turned off. Judging from the number of reports, that issue isn't as isolated as we'd like it to be — and at least one of our review units exhibits this behavior, too.

Discussions surrounding the topic are making the rounds on both the Pixel 6 and the Google Pixel subreddits, with many owners chiming in to say that their phones are affected, as well. It looks like more reports are pouring in from Pixel 6 Pro owners, but it's possible most members of these enthusiast subreddits simply went with the higher-end model. In any case, the flickering display issue arises for most when their phone is fully turned off and they briefly hit the power button repeatedly. At least one person experiences this problem while their phone is turned on, though, which sounds even more concerning.

Some Redditors speculate that the flickering might be related to static discharge that's released when hitting the button. Further discussions revolve around how severe the issue is and if it's worth returning these units to the manufacturer, as the flickering display apparently doesn't affect any other functionality — for now. Since it's not clear what exactly causes this issue, it's possible that there are some long-term effects we haven't run into yet.

We can confirm the issue on at least one of our Pixel 6 Pro review units, too, though it doesn't happen on the Pixel 6 for us. For good measure, we also tested for this behavior on a few other phones, including the Pixel 3, and sure enough, none of them show similar flickers.

This isn't the first time something like this is happening to Pixel phones. Google's lineup has historically always been plagued by weird issues, like the Pixel 5's display-body gap snafu, the Pixel 4's discharge and shutdown woes, or the Pixel 3's EDL Mode bricking problem, to mention just a small selection of complications. With the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro only exhibiting one difficulty so far, we're still hopeful that the new flagships will fare better than their predecessors.

We've reached out to Google for comment.

Thanks: Gian

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